Various

“ On more than one occasion more than one bird occupied the door-step at the same time, all the while apparently trying to drown each others' voices in a continuous flow of song. At such times the delightful mellowness which one hears, with the birds in the distance, gives place to an almost painful, penetrating shrillness. The more deliberately uttered song is invariably preceded by a strongly guttural sound not unlike that produced by striking an inflated rubber bag. ”

“ The eagle likes to face the sun and fly towards it as if he thought he could reach it. For a long time people wondered how he could face the sun so without being made blind. But we know now that he has a covering for his eyes that keeps them from all harm from the strong light. If you watch a chicken you may see it has two eyelids for each eye. So has the eagle. ”

“ Two characteristic accomplishments of man would not be his if it were not for his versatile tongue; they are spitting and whistling. The drawing of milk in nursing is an act of the tongue, and the power of its muscles as well as the complete control of its movements is an interesting provision of nature. It is believed by some that the pleasures of the taste sense are confined to such animals as suckle their young.
Tongues are rough because the papillæ, which in ordinary skin are hidden beneath the surface, come quite through and stand up like the villi of the digestive canal. ”

“ Nearly all substances have taste. That is, the tongue has power to tell us something about almost every substance in nature. Water is about the only substance found in nature that has no taste. But we rarely find water that is pure enough to be entirely without taste. Nearly all solids that can be dissolved in water have taste. So have nearly all liquids. When we say that water tastes good we recognize the mineral in it, or some combination of minerals that the human body needs in its economy. ”

“ The gods of the Greeks, those anthropomorphic beings, throbbing with life, radiant with beauty, the ideal of all that is fair and lovely, and yet the prey of human passions and desires, are a never-ending source of delight to classical students. ”

“ Cross-fertilization is necessary to some plants and beneficial to all. Nature has so devised it and has accordingly made the flowers conspicuous to insects by painting them, in most cases, a different and brighter hue than the foliage of the plant, making the blossom, in some cases, give forth a pleasant odor, and in nearly all cases causing the flower to secrete the nectar which the insects love. Flowers which do not attract the insects by their bright colors, odor, or nectar, are generally adapted to cross-fertilization by the wind or are partly or wholly fertile in themselves. ”

“ The puma is a very bloodthirsty animal, and whether hungry or not, usually attacks every animal, excepting dogs, that comes in his way. When hungry, however, he disdains no sort of food, feeding even upon the porcupine, notwithstanding the quills which lacerate his mouth and face, or the skunk, heedless of that little animal's peculiar venom. ”

“ Years afterwards the eagle was shot, and it had on its neck a queer locket, the skull of the weasel hanging there by the teeth. Sometimes the weasel cuts a vital part in the bird that picks it up, and then the weasel enjoys the life-blood of his enemy. ”

“ THE tongue is said to be the stomach begun. It is the first organ of the digestive system which acts upon the food. It is the source of much of the pleasure of life, particularly to young people. As it stands at the entrance to the alimentary canal it is endowed with powers of detecting the qualities of whatever the hands present to the stomach.
In early life the system demands abundant supplies of good material to build up growth and maintain activity. The sense of taste is then peculiarly keen, and the appetite for good things is strong. ”

“ When he finds a swan flying so high that it cannot get to the water and dive out of his reach the eagle flies against the swan from below with such force that the breath is knocked out of the swan in an instant. As the swan falls lifeless to the ground the eagle invites his mate to meet him at the spot and they have a great feast. ”

“ It is the habit of the puma to spring upon his prey from an eminence such as a ledge of rocks, a tree, or a slight rise of ground. If he fails to strike his victim, he seldom pursues it for any considerable distance. ”

“ If the young do not try to fly when the old ones think it time, they are pushed out of the nest as if to kill them. But the young wings flutter so that the bird does not fall hard, and the old bird flies under her young one to prevent any harm.
The eye of this bird is so keen that it can see a small animal much farther than the animal can see the great bird. When out of sight in the sky the eagle can see a hare as it comes out of its hole. It comes down so fast that it sometimes catches the hare before it can get back to a safe place. ”

“ As they run into the cage to escape the eagle, he follows them, the string is pulled, and the eagle finds himself alone in the trap, for the hen and her chickens easily get out between the bars which are too close together to allow him to do the same.
An eagle once attacked a weasel. This little animal is very fierce, and will not give up its life easily. Finding itself in the grasp of the bird, the weasel turned and fastened its teeth in the throat of the eagle. It was lucky for the eagle that the weasel did not cut his throat, but the little animal never let go. ”

“ All theories start from the supposition that the gods had their origin either in physical or mental phenomena. Many try to trace out the effect which the world of nature with its wonders, its beauties, and its fearful realities, has had upon the savage and primitive mind, and how from these impressions arose the main gods of the Greek religion. ”

“ A number of weeks have passed since I began Little Billee's biography. He grows more wonderful every day, and his devotion to me is simply marvelous. Every day he does some new cunning thing and seems to understand everything I say to him. ”

“ All substances do not taste alike to different tongues. We have noted the difference in appreciation of certain foods in infancy and in mature years. Water tastes differently to the fever patient and to the well man. As substances taste differently at different times to the same person, so they vary with individuals. One tongue is found on careful examination to have three times as many papillæ as another, one system is more susceptible to chemical action than another, and the nervous system varies enough in different subjects to make a considerable difference in the powers of taste. ”

“ While their young ones are in the nest the old birds are very active. They are fierce if anyone comes near the young.
Sometimes they show as much cunning in taking their prey as any of the cat family. In flying down to catch animals upon the ground they take care to fly so that their shadow will not frighten their prey. An eagle has been known to destroy an animal too large to be picked up by flying at the animal fiercely as it stood upon the edge of a steep place. The wings of the bird frightened the animal so as to drive it over the cliff to meet death upon the rocks below. ”

“ The amount of honey that they gather in the course of a season is enormous and it has been suggested that if introduced into this country they might be of immense value as they would doubtless visit mainly the plants which our honey-bees could not well gather from, such as red-clover, and thus increase the amount of clover seed as well as the quantity of honey already produced. Up to date, however, it is not proven that they will live in hives or that they can live at all in this climate; the latter being regarded as extremely doubtful by some of our best informed bee-men. ”

“ Among the Athenians fire is painted and the savor of sacrifices and smoke, as if fragrant and ascending with the savor; therefore, as to the wiser and those sacrificing well, the goddess comes to them. It is said that gold was poured down from heaven for the Rhodians and filled their houses and streets since Zeus poured out a cloud upon them because they, too, revered Athena ”

“ The adult is inclined to check the child in eating that which would not digest in the adult's stomach. But Herbert Spencer won the hearty esteem of the youngster when he gave scientific argument showing that growing children need highly concentrated foods to meet the demands of nature, and they may be permitted, in fact encouraged, to eat freely of foods which are unsuited to mature people.
The tongue's special work is telling us whether a given substance is good for us. Like other senses it may be deceived and is not always to be relied upon. ”

“ Some young eagles shed their downy feathers early and wear the dress of grown-up birds. Others keep some or all of their baby feathers five or six years. And there are some very old eagles still wearing some of the downy feathers of their first dresses.
Eagles kept in cages lose some of their fierce ways and change the colors of their dress. But they do not forget that they are eagles. A large cat once went under the bars of an eagle's cage to get the meat which had not been eaten by the bird. Down came the eagle, tore the cat to pieces, and ate him in a hurry. ”

“ When, from any cause, the bee-pastures become unproductive bees from different hives often declare war on their neighbors, the strong colonies singling out as enemies those that are weak or disorganized by the loss of a queen. The war is always pursued without quarter and thousands on each side perish in the fray, the victors always carrying off every drop of honey in the hive of the vanquished, leaving the unfortunate survivors of the defeated hive to perish by starvation. ”

“ The young ones cried harder when tied and the old ones thought they were hungry and brought them more flesh.
When the young are old enough to fly the old eagles fly above them as if to show them how easily it is done. ”

“ It is well-nigh impossible to creep upon a singing bird in the woods, even if it could be seen in the dim light, but it was not unusual, at my old home, for the birds to playfully fly round and round anyone who might be standing out in the yard at twilight. ”